In short: Great if you want something a little bit different...In full: Was my first marathon and wanted something a little out of the ordinary

Good thing about such a small field is you almost feel you know everyone.....met some amazing people....some who make running marathons a hobby, a blind runner and foster parents from the charity....and loads of other wonderful people

In short: Good 1st effort with great marshals! Move start to Ware or Hertford In full: Good first attempt at a new marathon, with very supportive and friendly marshals. Many thanks to the organisers for your time and efforts to plan and arrange this. Possible improvements: check the distance (my running mate and I both measured 25.7m - significant shortfall if you're looking for a meaningful PB). Gent's toilets at Stansted Abbotts were blocked with no water supply (yeuch!). Middle/later parts of route were dull and lonely, and some areas of canal side had distinctly 'sewer-ish' smell.I'd like to suggest a change of start location to Ware or Hertford (3m or 5m up river, respectively) - both attracvtive river/canal side towns with more parking than Stansted Abbots and better transport links to the start (incl. Hertford train from Kings X) and more/better changing venues (e.g. Wodeson Park, Ware). OR how about doing the route in 'reverse route' and ending in Hertford.... now there's a thought! Date of review: November 14, 2007

In short: Fast course, unusual route, great marshalls, not measured properly.In full: Despite the organisational teething troubles this was a good race. The marshals were fantastic, so encouraging. It's a fast course and worth doing for pb potential but it's not 26.2 miles, more like 25.6. The organisers must sort this out for next year.Date of review: November 13, 2007

In short: Good race, looking forward to 4 2 goIn full: This was the first year this race has been ran, this is why I rated it with a lot of 3's. I would have no hesitation in coming back next year when I'm sure the creases would be ironed out and my personal rating would improve to 4/5's all round. Date of review: November 13, 2007

In short: A great new point to point race in some fantastically scenic, hidden areas of London. Looking forward to the 2012 race which apparently runs into the Olympic stadium!Date of review: November 13, 2007

In short: very friendly, well marshalled, bit lonely towards the endIn full: my first marathon, and it got very lonely from about 20m onwards when I was really struggling. not sure this is the best race to do first time, as having a few more people around may have helped. obvious gltiches at start, which have already been commented on, and hopefully organisers will deal with this next year. marshalling and drink-stations were excellent.

they should definitely try and re-route the finish area though - running through the east marsh was a horrible slog, and almost felt as if you'd veered off the route and ended up in a rugby training session. There's a really nice stretch of path running around the east edge of the main marsh (by the river), and i'm sure that could be incorporated into a sufficiently long loop to finish things off.

overall, despite a hellish rookie last 5 miles, will be back next year. Date of review: November 12, 2007